Selfish Heart
by DiscordianSamba
Summary: AU, Dokipre roleswap. The Trump Kingdom has fallen- and has left Makoto Kenzaki as it's only survivor. Fleeing to Earth in pursuit of her missing princess, she is at the end of her rope until three fairies appear before her. But while the first two Precure are quickly found, the third appears to be missing. Could this all be tied to a mysterious golden eyed boy?
1. The Last Warrior of the Trump Kingdom Fi

**Author's Note**: Yahoo~! I'm really super excited to finally get the first chapter of this out here, since I've been excited about this story since it's inception. So to be able to finally complete a chapter of it and formally launch it makes me really happy! I hope that everyone enjoys Selfish Heart half as much as I did while planning and writing it- which is to say, a lot!

Naturally, as mentioned, this is a **roleswap AU**- a type of alternate universe story that revolves around swapping roles. In this case, this would be the roles of** Rikka Hishikawa** and **Ira**. It was originally inspired by a small bit of art that I saw on pixiv, and I kind of fell in love with the idea and went from there. Of course, it's not just a simple roleswap AU, but it will also be incorporating a lot of fun new ideas, story directions, and all sorts of interesting new things- because there's no way that I would do something as boring and uninspired as simply rewriting every pre-existing Dokipre episode.

Well, I think I've talked enough already, so I hope everyone enjoys! Please leave a review if you could be so kind! Till next time~!

* * *

**Selfish Heart**

**Episode One**

_The Last Warrior of the Trump Kingdom Finds a New Hope_

* * *

When had the screams stopped?

She barely found herself with a moment to catch her breath, her brow coated with sweat- and yet somehow in the chaos, she found the time to wonder about that.

The sky was dark overhead, and yet not because it was cloudy- it was more like the light from the sun had simply been sucked away. The air itself was heavy, rank with tension, and was bearing down on her, threatening to pull her under into some deep darkness.

She swallowed, her legs starting to shake from the effort that she was exerting. She had powers beyond belief, her body strengthened- and yet she was reaching her limits. She could feel it in her bones, she could feel it in the way she was starting to gasp for breath. What she wouldn't have given for one breath of clean, fresh air. But she had neither a moment to take it, nor such fresh, crisp air available to her.

The screams had stopped, but the oppressive feeling had only increased. Now that she thought about it, as she turned on shaking legs, ready to face down the next challenger- where had everyone gone? She had been fighting with a unit earlier- where had they gone? She couldn't see them anywhere.

A cry, but not from a human. She gritted her teeth, resolving herself to face the monster. Monsters, monsters, monsters- so many monsters! There was no end! Where was her unit? Where were her fellow warriors? Where was her princess?

Where was anyone?

And yet.

"Flash!" Her voice was ragged, her breathing shallow. "Holy Sword!"

Again, the brilliant violet light shot forward, striking through the monster clean and true. It seemed to crack and shatter from the impact, giving way to a pure pink Psyche, flying off into the distance. Lowering her shaking arm, she took two steps forward, feeling the muscles in her legs burning. If this battle took such a toll on her, what did it mean for anyone else? They did not have such abilities as she did, and even her stamina was at it's limits.

There were a few others like her, selected by the princess and the king alike. The king- that's right, where was the king, in the middle of all this? Why had she not realized that he was nowhere to be found before this? She simply hadn't had the time to think, no time to question anything. She just knew that she had to fight, had to protect her kingdom- and had to return to her princess.

The princess, where was she? She had lost sight of her somewhere along the way. The princess was a powerful warrior, and in her hands was one of the legendary treasures- surely she must have been okay. Surely she must be with her another unit, fighting off these monsters, fighting that thing that had appeared so suddenly.

That thing that was responsible for all of this. King Selfishness.

"Oh, there was still one left?"

Her blood froze in her veins, and it was all she could do to turn her body to face the voice, full of mockery. She swallowed, her throat dry, her vision blurring. But still, she saw the woman before her, moving unharmed amongst the monsters.

She had defeated so many, but the woman brought even more with her. They followed at her command, only held back from charging at the single girl who could barely stand up by the woman's slender, almost white hand.

King Selfishness, the Selfish. His servants. Which one was this? Their names blurred together in her head, as did many other thoughts. 'Still one left', she had said. What did that mean? Still one Precure? Still one unit member?

Still one person?

"Where is the princess!?" She found herself shouting, her voice cracking, her throat dry.

"Princess?" The woman asked, blinking for a moment, before a look of amusement crossed her face. "Ah, her. Who knows? There's no way that someone like that could possibly fight King Selfishness and win. She's probably already dead, if she hasn't become a monster herself already."

The words stabbed through her like her namesake, and it was all the purple clad girl could do to not let it show on her face. Don't flinch, don't let your heart waver in front of these people- they could see it, after all. Instead she forced herself to stand up straighter, turning her sharp gaze towards this monster woman.

Golden eyes.

A faint beeping in the air.

"I see." The woman said simply, closing her eyes for a brief moment, before she opened them again, golden gaze falling on her. "So you're one of the types who will fight down to their last breath? Very well, I suppose I can grant that kind of wish as well."

_Beep, beep._

Darkness forming in the woman's hand.

The beeping was growing louder. Wait... where was that noise coming from again?

Makoto Kenzaki almost managed to choke on her own breath as her eyes snapped open. For several moments, she could not discern if the scene in front of her eyes was the oppressively dark sky of what had been the Trump Kingdom, or was the steadily rotating ceiling lamp in her new residence. She swallowed, and found that her throat was no longer dry, and took a deep breath, finding that the air was no longer heavy.

"A dream." She mumbled to herself, placing a hand on her forehead. The sweat, at least, had been real, and she could feel a dampness on her brow. Taking in and letting out another deep breath, she blinked slowly, turning her head a bit to the side, glancing at the persistently beeping alarm clock that sat directly across from her.

Frowning for a few seconds, she slowly pushed herself up into a seated position, staring at the object as if it were completely foreign to her- when in fact it had been over a year since she had come here. Still, Makoto found herself facing down the alarm clock much like it was yet another monster- before she managed to pull the knowledge to silence it from the sleepy depths of her mind.

The insistent beeping noise finally stopped, she got to her feet. For a moment she stumbled, before her body remembered that she was not worn from battle, and that her legs weren't throbbing with pain from overuse. Taking a few steps forward, she stretched, feeling her bones shift and pop lightly from a long night's disuse. She could faintly smell something being cooked in the kitchen- and could hear the faint sound of Davie humming something. One of her songs... no, that was a traditional children's song from the Trump Kingdom, wasn't it?

That's right, she thought, humming it slightly herself as the words to it bubbled to the surface of her mind. She had sung it with the princess countless times before, when she was still a child. She and the other children at the orphanage, their voices raising up in unison. Even now, she could still recall it. The children's voices didn't harmonize at all, and were in total discord- and yet the princess' voice rang clear and true through them, strong and beautiful.

That was why she had wanted to sing in the first place. That sharp and clear voice, carrying over the hills of the Trump Kingdom- she wanted to come close to that. She hadn't forgotten that, after all this time. She had practiced and practiced, every day.

Singing for her princess had been a dream. The first time that Makoto had sung before her, by herself, it was a wonder that she hadn't burst into tears of happiness. It was everything that she had wanted, everything that she had worked so hard for, for so many years.

Even now, she was still singing for her princess.

Pulling back the curtains, she winced a little as the bright sun directly assaulted her eyes. Blinking for a few moments to correct this problem, she eventually worked the latch on the balcony door, sliding the glass door open. Fresh air filled her lungs when she took a deep breath, and she could hear the steady hustle and bustle of the city underneath her feet. People were waking up, getting ready to go to work, getting ready to go to school.

It was like the city was coming to life.

Makoto closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the sounds- the engines of cars and buses, the chatter of the people on the street, the sounds of the birds. She could feel a gentle breeze on her face- today would be a wonderful spring day, she felt. She could feel the sun on her face, and a certain joy in the air.

This was truly a peaceful city.

She couldn't let it become like the Trump Kingdom.

She refused to fail again.

Clenching her fists, Makoto's eyes narrowed, that woman's golden eyes manifesting in her thoughts again. They haunted her, full of mockery and contempt.

"Never again." She whispered, her voice harsh in her ears. Glancing down at the bustling city street, she barely heard Davie's voice calling her from the kitchen. "I'll never let that happen again."

* * *

"You've been looking rather pleased with yourself this morning, Mana." Alice Yotsuba couldn't help but observe, peering over at her friend. "Did something good happen?"

"I was waiting for you to ask, Alice!" A bright smile broke out the young girl's face, her magenta eyes shining brightly. "As a matter of fact, something wonderful! Do you know the current super idol, Makopi?"

"Of course." Alice smiled politely, glancing briefly out the window of her rather impressive car. "It's hard to think of someone who hasn't heard of her yet. She's everywhere, after all." As if on cue, the car rolled past a record store, which had a rather large poster of the young idol whose name was on everyone's lips, advertising her new single. "You could say that she's taken the country by storm. My father's company is the one who manages her record label."

"Is there anything your father's company doesn't manage?" Fourteen year old Mana Aida found herself asking. "He seems to have his hands in all sorts of business ventures."

"Now that you mention it, I suppose that's true. I suppose he would be a super businessman, then?" Alice suggested, smiling placidly over towards her friend.

For a brief moment, the only thought that filled Mana's mind was a horrible image of Alice's father dressed in Makopi's signature pink dress- and it was all she could do to bite back her gag reflex. That was not a mental image that she needed to start her day off with. "I-I suppose so." She stammered a little, trying to shake it out of her thoughts.

"And? What is this news?" Alice inquired, seeming immune to her friend's train of thought. "Something to do with Makopi, since you brought her up, I suppose."

"Ah, yes!" Mana nodded her eyes, her earlier excitement returning. Beaming brightly, she dug into her bag, and produced three tickets, each of them bearing an image of the idol on them. "I managed to get three tickets to her concert this weekend! She'll be singing her single, Songbird, for the first time!"

"Oh, amazing!" Alice clapped her hands, looking genuinely impressed in spite of the fact that she most likely could have acquired such tickets with no cost to herself. "The obvious other person aside, are you planning to invite Nikiadou-san as well?"

"Eh, I was going to go with him, but I was going to invite you instead of Nikiadou, Alice." Mana pouted a little, pulling the tickets back a bit. "Do you not want to go?"

"Oh, is that right?" Alice blinked, apparently not having considered that option. "I would be delighted to attend. I don't believe that I have any prior engagements... at least off the top of my head. Sebastian?" She asked, glancing towards the front of the car, where her faithful butler was fulfilling one of his many duties- driving his mistress and her childhood friend to school. The fact that they attended two separate schools was of no matter.

"I believe that you have a piano lesson scheduled in the morning on Saturday, and a horseback riding lesson on the Sunday afternoon, but nothing that should prevent you from attending a concert on Saturday evening, mistress." Sebastian quickly recalled- after all, memorizing your mistress' schedule was one of the very basics of being a butler. "You should be free to attend."

"I see! Then I would love to come with, Mana!" Alice said brightly, looking a bit excited. "I've never been to a concert like that before though. It's not quite the same as a formal recital, is it?" She pondered out loud.

"Well, I wouldn't know, I've never been to a formal recital myself!" Mana admitted, laughing a little, carefully tucking the tickets back away in her bag. "It's actually my first concert too. I mean, I attended her first mini-live... but this is on a whole different scale from that! It's taking up the biggest concert hall in Oogai! Completely sold out! That's the power of Makopi, for you." She said, folding her arms in front of her chest, giving her childhood friend a sage nod.

She had known Alice Yotsuba since the two of them were children- they had attended the same elementary school, although they had known each other since they were kindergartners. She was originally a shy and meek child with weak health- but before anyone knew it, she had become much more confident and healthier, and could live a normal life. She was definitely one of Mana's best friends in the world!

Speaking of best friends, though...

"He gets out of the hospital tomorrow, right?" Mana asked, frowning a little. "I wonder if I should tell him today or tomorrow?" She inquired- she didn't even bother asking if the young boy who was just leaving the hospital would be up to attending a bustling concert. It wasn't because of a lack of concern on her part, but simply because she knew him very well- and she already knew the answer was 'yes'.

After all, not many people could fall out of a second story window, and completely recover in three days! As always, his body was ridiculously durable.

"I believe so. I don't see a problem with telling him today?" Alice suggested. "I'm sure he'll be happy to be invited. He's not honest about it, but he has a few of her CDs in his room. It's hidden with his shoujo manga."

"Is it with the pile of fluffy romance shoujo manga or the pile with the magical girl shoujo manga?" Mana asked, tilting her head a little.

"No, it's the pile with the slightly offbeat comedy shoujo manga." Alice responded. "You know, the one that's underneath his bed, where he thinks nobody looks."

"Doesn't he know that's the first place anyone looks when they enter a new person's room?" Mana frowned a little. "Hiding shoujo manga underneath his bed at his age... I wonder if he's maturing correctly." She muttered to herself, a serious expression briefly crossing over his face. "Don't you think most boys around that age are starting to think about other things?"

"I wouldn't know." Alice stated frankly.

"Pardon me, mistress, but I'm afraid there's going to be a slight delay in getting the both of you to school." Sebastian spoke up, cutting off any further conversation.

"Is something wrong?" Alice asked, frowning a little. "Is there a traffic jam of some sorts?"

"You could say that, but I believe the source of it is caused by one of those monsters that have been causing everyone such grievance lately." Sebastian stated plainly- for all that he had just basically announced that a monster had appeared, he didn't seem all that concerned about it.

After all, this city had a protector.

"A Jikochuu!?" Mana sprung to her feet, completely forgetting that she was inside of a car- and however roomy Alice's custom hot pink car was, it still wasn't quite tall enough for someone to stand straight up in. As a result, she found herself crouching on the floor, clutching at her head in pain.

"What kind is it this time!?" Alice asked, expressing excitement of her own- and she managed to get up from her seat without bashing her skull in. Rolling down a window, she poked her head outside, her eyes shining brightly as she spotted the monster in the distance, letting out a cry that had become all too familiar to the people of Oogai. "A crab! It's a crab! Ah, Sebastian, are you certain that we can't take this one home!?"

"I believe that would be somewhat of a problem, mistress." The butler answered honestly. "Even with the power of the Yotsuba Corporation."

"Then, if there's a Jikochuu, does that mean Cure Sword's appeared?" Mana asked, the pain from her throbbing head relenting. Rolling down the window on the opposite side of Alice's, she peered out, eyes searching around for any sign of the mysterious girl. Her expression grew somewhat crestfallen as she quickly realized that she couldn't make out the mysterious girl's figure in the distance.

"It seems that it's the one our age today." Alice observed, placing a hand over her eyes in order to shield them from the sun's glare.

"Shouldn't she be on her way to school?" Mana inquired, briefly glancing back towards her friend- Alice didn't have a chance to point out that it was very unlikely that a minion of evil attended classes regularly as they did, before she was cut off by the sound of something thumping on the roof of the car- and if the elated squealing sound that escaped from Mana was any indication, she had a feeling she knew what that was about.

Cure Sword, the mysterious warrior who had been protecting Oogai from these monsters, had just run over the roof of her car, making a beeline towards the Jikochuu and it's summoner, jumping from car to car on her way there. The enigmatic purple clad young girl appeared to be not much older than her and Mana- if not the exact same age. She had appeared in Oogai around the same time as the mysterious monsters, which appeared to be called Jikochuu, had.

The Yotsuba Corporation had tried investigating them before, but they hadn't turned up much information that was helpful. And in spite of an attempt to ferret out the true identity of the mysterious Cure Sword, nothing had come up. Perhaps, Alice thought, that was for the best though- surely nothing good would come of it if the girl's real self was known to the rest of the world. What if she had family and friends that needed to be kept safe from the people she was fighting?

While Alice was wondering about that, it seemed that her friend had no such likewise concerns at the moment. "Cure Sword!" She called after the mysterious girl, her magenta eyes sparkling with excitement. She was all but leaning halfway outside of the car window, frantically waving towards the girl's retreating back, hoping to catch her attention somehow. When this failed, she sullenly lowered her arm, heaving a deep sigh.

"Well, it can't be helped." Alice reassured her. "After all, she has something more pressing to take care of at the moment."

* * *

She had, of course, heard the girl screaming her name at the top of her lungs. It would have been very hard for her to miss.

The one thing that Makoto Kenzaki- or rather, Cure Sword right now, hadn't counted on when it came to defending the people of Oogai was just how many fans she would earn for this. She frankly didn't really understand it. All she was doing was her duty- fighting against the Selfish didn't seem like it was something that was deserving of fans.

But it seemed like having a large fan following was perhaps her destiny- both as Cure Sword, and as the current number one idol, Makopi. To be honest, there were a lot of things that confused her about the idol business as well- it was a good thing that she had Davie here with her, who had taken the time to do a very through and in depth investigation of the business and all of it's workings.

Speaking of the fairy, she had seemed slightly distracted since this morning. Well, fairies were sensitive to minute changes, even if they didn't know what those were- perhaps something was going to happen?

Well, for all that, things seemed to be happening as normal today.

And that included fighting against the Selfish today too.

"You people never know when to give up, do you?" Sword's voice rang out loud and clear, catching the attention of the giant crab monster that had up until that point been devoting it's energy to creating a huge mess.

"I could say the same thing to you as well, Cure Sword." There was a faint brush of chill as the young girl lowered herself down from her previous aerial perch, a hint of amusement dancing across her features. "For all that you sound so confident, you struggled quite a bit the last time, didn't you?"

Against her better judgement, Sword found herself gritting her teeth. Of course, it had to be this one today. Out of the three members of the Selfish Trio, there was no doubt that this one was the one she had the most problems dealing with. It was true that compared to Marmo and Bel, her power was lacking... but she was smart as anything, and clever too.

And what's more, her words were like thorny barbs, piercing through the emotional barrier she had set in place to protect her own Psyche from the likes of the trio.

"You shouldn't sound so triumphant simply because you got lucky last time, Furia. I won't lose to the likes of you." Sword said cooly, locking her eyes with the Selfish girl's. A frosty blue, not gold- but there was no mistaking them even then.

There was no way that Sword would mistake her for a human- not with the Selfish's signature batwings revealing her true nature. Her hair was a frosty blue color, the same as her eyes, and hung down towards her elbows. A small braid was twined around the back of her head, and a tiny dark blue bow rested at the center of it. Furia barely appeared older than Makoto's own fourteen years of age- although she was slightly taller than the Precure.

"As always your heart is so well guarded. There's no place for me to break through." Furia let a slight sigh escape from her lips, shrugging her shoulders. Brushing a strand of frosty blue hair out of her eyes, her disappointed expression quickly transformed into a rather confident look. "Well, it doesn't matter. It just means that you've chosen the hard way. It would be a lot easier you know, if you just gave yourself up and became a Jikochuu. Just like everyone else in your kingdom."

"Shut up." Sword gritted her teeth, feeling the barbs of Furia's words sinking in. She couldn't waste time chatting with this one- nothing good would come of it. "I don't have any time to waste on you today."

That part was actually true- after this she had an important meeting with her agency concerning her concert that weekend. It would be bad if she missed another one. That concert would be an important chance for her to spread out her song even more than before, there was no way she could let it fall apart.

No matter what, she had to find her.

"How dull." Furia simply heaved another long sigh, before raising her hand, floating backwards up into the air as she did so. "Jikochuu, if you be so kind. Try not to be completely useless today too."

The monster, of course, did not take offense at it's mistress' words, but rather advanced towards the purple clad girl. It let out a cry, venting a loud frustration about having to wait in line with everyone else, about how it should always be allowed to go first without having to wait around! Created from the selfish thoughts of a human that had overtaken the rest of their Psyche, the Jikochuu on their own usually weren't anything for Sword to worry about.

Even if they had been growing slightly more powerful lately, it was nothing she couldn't handle.

The crab Jikochuu lurched forward, raising one of it's pincers in the air, slamming it down towards Sword. Leaping out of the way, she watched as the ground cracked underneath the Jikochuu's force. But it wasn't anything to worry about, after all, the damage would be fixed after the battle. She didn't understand that herself, but she was grateful for it.

Though perhaps there was a reason why the portal from the Trump Kingdom appeared exactly over this city.

"Sword!" A cry from below her caught her attention. Her fairy partner, Davie, normally quite focused on the task at hand, seemed to have her attention elsewhere. "I can sense something ~byi!"

"Something? What?" Sword asked, although her focus on Davie's words were broken by the Jikochuu. Pursuing it's prey, once again it lurched forward, this time opening it's pinchers wide, aiming to entrap the Precure within it's grasp. Ducking downwards, she avoided it's attack, before she placed her hands on the ground, using her momentum to slam a leg upwards. Coupled with her massively increased strength, the Jikochuu flew up into the air a bit, allowing Sword enough time to slip away from it again.

"I don't exactly ~byi." The purple fairy confessed after a moment, her eyes searching in the area around them. "I can definitely feel something though, ~byi! It feels... it feels," her eyes narrowed as if uncertain of her next words.

"Like what?" Sword asked, her eyes briefly flickering down towards her companion. But that slight slip of her attention was all the Jikochuu needed, and any thoughts of what it could be that Davie felt slipped from her mind as Sword found herself being pinched between on of the crab Jikochuu's massive claws. She let out a loud cry, feeling the air rushing from her lungs.

"My, my, you're unusually distracted today." Furia observed, unable to help but quirk a slight eyebrow. That was actually rather curious- normally Cure Sword was very single-minded and focused on her battle. It seemed that her fairy companion had been saying something... she wondered what it could be? "If defeating you was going to be this easy all along, I'm almost sort of sorry to see you go, Cure Sword."

"Don't count me out just yet." Sword gritted her teeth, narrowing her eyes. Gathering her willpower, she exerted as much force as she possibly could in her trapped position, a bright purple glow emitting from her body. In a flash of power, she freed herself from the Jikochuu's claws- and also caused the monster to stumble back from both the force and brightness.

"Flash!" She called out, raising her hand before her. "Holy Sword!" The violet light shot forward, straight and true, purifying the Jikochuu. She couldn't prevent her shoulders slumping in relief as she watched the purified Psyche flutter off, heading back towards it's original owner, and the damage caused by the crab monster resetting itself.

Turning towards Furia, Sword ignored the fact that the pain from the crab's pincher attack lingered, and grinned triumphantly. "It seems that you weren't disappointed in the end, Furia. Like I said, there's no way that I would ever be defeated by you."

"I suppose that remains today as well." Furia said cooly- for all that she had lost, she didn't look tremendously disappointed, displaying a poker face that most adults would be envious of. "Well, there's always next time, Cure Sword. I suppose that was simply the limit of today's Jikochuu. A desire to cut in line... too common an act of selfishness to do any real harm, I suppose."

"I'll simply have to prepare a more splendid one for next time. Until then." She said simply, placing a hand on the edge of her skirt, lifting it up in a slight curtsy. With that motion, the Selfish teleported away, leaving Sword behind.

"Are you okay, Sword ~byi?" Davie inquired, peering up at her partner as best she could in her current form. "I didn't mean to distract you ~byi." She said, honestly frustrated at herself for slipping up like that. It was just... the energy she had felt had been just like...

"It's alright." Sword said, a gentle smile on her face. "I defeated it without any problem in the end, so there's nothing to worry about. More importantly, what were you saying before, Davie?"

"Since this morning I thought that I had felt a familiar energy in the area ~byi." She confessed, knowing from the look alone that Sword had already doubtlessly connected the dots. "Off and on, that is ~byi."

"Familiar energy...? You don't mean the princess, do you?" Sword asked, barely able to keep the edge of excitement from out of her voice- as well as the doubt.

After all, she had already spent a year searching for the princess, without so much as a trace of her presence. For Davie to suddenly feel her energy appear today... could it really be true?

"I believe so, ~byi, although it's faint and sporadic ~byi." Davie said. "I can investigate it for you ~byi."

"Please do." Sword nodded her head, before looking around her, noticing that the people who had evacuated or were in hiding had all started to return to the area. Acknowledging them with a small smile and a slight wave, Sword quickly made to leave the area herself. She would rather avoid drawing too much attention to herself- at least as far as that sort of thing was possible.

And yet, even with news that should be joyous- a possible trace of the princess, after all this time!- her heart only felt disturbed.

* * *

"And then just when she thought she had gotten her, Sword broke free with a brilliant flash of light!" Came Mana Aida's excited exclamation, her own eyes shimmering and shining almost as brightly as the flash of purple light from earlier. "And then boom! Flash, Holy Sword!" She shouted, excitedly waving her hand in the air, mimicking the Precure's movements.

"It was all over with that! Furia ran away like she had her tail between her legs! Ahh, you should have seen it, she really was amazing!" Mana declared, squeezing her schoolbag in excitement, before she collapsed back into the slightly uncomfortable chair that she had pulled by the young man's bedside, only to shoot out from it in excitement at telling him of her sighting of the legendary Cure Sword earlier that morning.

"You really love Cure Sword, don't you, Mana?" He asked, snorting a little. He was currently dressed in a hospital gown, hints of bandages around his chest poking out from it. There were also bandages looped around his head, and though he would be able to go without the ones around his chest starting tomorrow, it seemed like the doctors insisted he wear the ones around the head for another day and a half.

Honestly, it was a huge pain. He had only taken a _little_ fall.

Out of a second story window.

And he'd only hit his head a little bit!

On cement.

To anyone else, such an accident would surely mean at least a week or two in the hospital- but well, he wasn't exactly any other person. If he had anything going for him, it was that his body was absurdly durable.

"Of course!" Mana nodded her head, beaming brightly, lowering her schoolbag down and placing it in her lap. "Don't you think she's cool too? After all, fighting monsters and taking down bad guys... and doing it all while wearing cute clothes! It's any girl's dream, Ira!"

"And? What would I know about girl's dreams?" Golden eyes fell on the magenta haired girl, one of his brows arching upwards. A single strand of dark brown hair stubbornly stuck up from the rest of the short, moppy mess of his hair, which almost seemed to twitch with his changing moods. Mana hadn't exactly known him for as long as she had Alice- the three of them had only met the golden eyed boy in the third grade, after all- but she considered him to be one of her closest friends.

"Plenty! You certainly read enough shoujo manga to understand a maiden's heart, Ira!" Mana insisted, grinning from ear to ear as the fourteen year old boy made a noise of protest, glowering at the girl who was his childhood friend. "Now, now, now, you don't have to keep such things a secret from your onee-san, Ira! She understands everything about her cute little brother after all!"

"I'm not your little brother!" He shouted, the single strand of hair perking straight up in anger. "And I don't remember being related to you at all! Besides, if there's someone older here, it should be me!"

"Ehhh, but you're shorter than me." Mana pointed out, seeming to chuckle slightly as that only caused the boy's temper to flare up more. "Now, now, Ira. There's no need to get so upset, I'm only teasing. Besides that, I have something to tell you."

"What, more fawning over Cure Sword?" He asked, frowning a little, folding his arms in front of his chest. "Did you manage to finally get her autograph or something?"

"No, not yet." Mana said, growing crestfallen for a moment. And she had been so close to her today, too! Even if it had only been for a brief instant...

"Then, what?" Ira inquired, growing slightly curious.

"Be amazed!" Mana beamed, pulling out the tickets from her bag, and all but shoving them in his face. "Three tickets to Makopi's big concert this weekend! For you, me, and Alice!"

"Hmph. Why should I care something like that? It's just going to be filled with a bunch of black hearts again!" Ira huffed- but in spite of his words, his eyes were glancing towards the tickets, seemingly trying to check out exactly where the seats in question were located.

"Don't be that way! It's a Makopi concert after all! Everyone whose a Makopi fan is like family!" Mana declared, grinning slyly as she moved her thumb so that they completely covered up the seat numbers. She couldn't help but giggle again as Ira visibly flushed at this, realizing that he had been caught. "Besides, it's no good if you're always afraid of going to crowded places just because you might see something unpleasant, Ira."

"I'm not afraid!" He protested, before heaving a sigh. "Well, I suppose since you made the effort of getting three tickets, I guess I could keep the two of you company."

"That's the spirit!" Mana grinned, tucking the tickets away in her bag. "What better way to celebrate you getting out of the hospital tomorrow than a fun concert? But I have to say, Ira, you really have to treat your body better! At this rate they're going to start charging your mother discounts for you being a frequent customer- and I don't think the hospital even has one of those frequent customer cards you can stamp to get a reward!"

"What would they give out as a reward anyways, shitty hospital food?" Ira asked dryly.

"I don't think you have the right to complain about anyone else's food." Mana responded, giving her friend a blank look.

"What are you talking about? My food's the best!" Ira insisted. "Just last month, the new home economics teacher thought my cookies were so good, she passed out!"

"No, I'm pretty sure that you nearly gave her a near death experience." Mana shook her head, her stomach gurgling a little as she recalled her own close encounter with the devil that was Ira's cooking ability. Normally one wouldn't call a simple lack of cooking skill an 'ability' in it's own right, but well... with Ira, it was _definitely _an ability.

"Honestly, you people just have no sense of taste." Ira huffed, pouting a little. "And? Why isn't Alice with you today?"

"Ah, something apparently came up her place." Mana said. "Something about a sudden emergency they needed her for... well, she's always getting called away for one thing or another."

"It might be troublesome, helping to look after a business that large at her age. She's really impressive." Ira observed, half muttering the last part to himself. "Unlike someone else I know." He added, his gaze sliding towards Mana.

"Well, I can only do my best!" Mana beamed, the jab sliding off her without effect. "Ah, speaking of which, I actually need to leave early today. I promised that I would help tutor some kids from the elementary school today."

"Fine, fine, begone with you already." Ira said, leaning back in his hospital bed, letting out a loud yawn. "You interrupted my nap anyways."

"Ah, sorry!" Mana apologized quickly, even as she got to her feet. "I'll let you get back to it. Sleep is important for a speedy recovery after all! I just hope I didn't disturb a good dream, or anything like that!"

"No." Ira said, slowly shutting his eyes. Behind them an blurry, half-remembered image of a massive, inky black figure rose up. "Not a good dream."

* * *

Dreams, it seemed, weren't coming that easily to Makoto either that night.

Davie, as promised, had investigated the traces of the princess' energy earlier that day- but she hadn't turned up with anything conclusive. Promising the young girl that she wouldn't give up, her fairy partner told her that she would begin her investigation anew tomorrow morning. Surely there must have been something that she had missed.

Thus Makoto had attempted to settle her heart, and get some rest. After all, she was going to have a very busy schedule ahead of her for the next two days- she was going to need it.

But sleep eluded her on that night. After growing frustrated of simply tossing and turning in her bed, she let out a deep sigh, pushing herself up and untangling herself from her covers. The alarm clock next to her bed indicated that it was already one in the morning- perhaps she had then, managed to doze off for at least a few moments.

She didn't feel tired however, and instead found herself getting to her feet, making her way to her balcony window. Pulling back the curtains and opening up the doors, she stepped outside, taking a breath of fresh air, and letting the still somewhat cold night air fill her lungs. It was a refreshing feeling, and she did it a few more times, feeling stress exit her body every time she did so.

"Get it together, Makoto." She scolded herself lightly, resting her arms against the railing. Her eyes directed themselves towards the bright moon up above, nearly full that night. The city streets below, once so bustling and active that morning, had fallen almost completely silent under the cover of darkness. It was quiet, aside from the faint sound of the occasional car driving past.

Some might say that it would give them a sensation of being the only one left in the world- but that was a sensation that Makoto was already painfully familiar with. This peaceful and quiet sensation was nothing like the horror and despair of realizing that everything you loved had already been destroyed, and that you were the only one left.

"Not the only one." Makoto chided herself lightly. "There's Davie too. And the princess is out there somewhere, surely."

She had to keep to believing. She couldn't give up so easily.

Closing her eyes, the brightness of the moon faded, giving way to peaceful darkness. She simply stood there for a few moments, leaning against the balcony, quietly listening to the faint and occasional sounds of cars. There wasn't a sound like a car engine in the Trump Kingdom- and although she had found them overwhelming at first, now she found the hum of a car engine strangely peaceful.

Amidst the darkness, there was a sudden bright light, and Makoto winced- only to realize that she hadn't actually open her eyes yet. Snapping them open now, she glanced upwards, wondering what it could be- surely that light couldn't be the brightness of the moon.

At first, there was nothing.

And then, just as it had been against the darkened field of her vision earlier, a brilliant burst of light exploded outwards. The sudden brightness left the purple haired girl stumbling backwards, letting out a small yelp as she lost her footing, years of grace and agility all being thrown out the window at once as she landed rather unceremoniously on her butt, her eyes wincing shut against the sudden brightness.

And then-

"Is this really her ~de lance?"

"It must be ~sharu! I know I got it right this time for sure, ~sharu!"

"You said that the last time, and look how that turned out ~keru."

De lance? Sharu? Keru? Where had she heard sentence endings like that before? Makoto's eyes flew open as she quickly recalled, her mouth hanging slightly open in shock for a moment at the sight before her. Swallowing a little, she composed herself somewhat, observing the three small floating creatures before her.

"Fairies?"

"See!" The pink, rabbit-like one declared triumphantly, looking rather pleased with herself. "I told you that I got it right this time ~sharu!" She said. "You're Cure Sword, right ~sharu? I'm Cheryl, and this is Lance and Raquel ~sharu! We've been sent here from the Trump Kingdom to find your allies ~sharu!"

"Allies...?" Makoto said, slowly blinking.

There were other Precure?

"Yes!" Cheryl bowed her head. "It's a pleasure to work with you, Cure Sword ~sharu!"


	2. Searching for a New Precure is Simple- R

Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! Without further delay, the second chapter of Selfish Heart is here at last! I got really into this chapter, and it was pretty fun to write! I really, really like this story myself, so I hope that everyone else does as well! Feel free to leave any questions or comments, if you have any!

* * *

**Selfish Heart**

**Episode Two**

_Searching for a New Precure is Simple... Right?_

* * *

"I'm honored to be able to meet a fairy as legendary as you ~sharu!"

Makoto had barely finished explaining what the trio of new fairies had told her to Davie, when Cheryl burst out with that line. The pink bunny-like fairy had quickly closed the gap between herself and Davie, who was currently in her fairy form, grasping that cat-like fairy's tiny paws in her own.

"I'm honored that you're flatter to meet me, ~byi." Davie said calmly, smiling somewhat tenderly at the excited newborn fairy. "I understand that you were sent here to help us, but by who ~byi?"

"By the princess ~de lance!" The yellow bear-like fairy chimed in, though judging from the tone of his voice, it seemed like he was about to fall asleep.

"The princess?" Makoto perked up very quickly at this information, feeling the knot that had been tightening itself in her heart loosen a little. "Did the princess really send you?"

"Yes ~keru." The third fairy, Raquel, nodded his head. "The first thing we remember is being given this mission by the princess ~keru."

"Does that mean you know where she is, ~byi?" Davie asked, voicing the question that was currently being caught in Makoto's throat. She could almost hear the young girl's heart pounding in her chest, excitement daring to cross her features- which was why it was so painful for Davie to watch as her heart visibly broke only a few moments later.

"We don't, ~sharu." Cheryl shook her head, looking apologetic. She didn't quite understand the full relationship between Cure Sword and the princess- but it seemed that the princess was someone quite important to her. "The only we heard was her voice, ~sharu."

"I think we were sent to this world while we were still being ~keru." Raquel added. "That's why it took so long for us to join you here, ~keru. At least, it feels like time has passed ~keru."

"It's been about a year." Makoto supplied, the energy she had earlier suddenly gone from her voice. She swallowed a little, feeling the knot in her heart tighten again. She should have known not to get her hopes up so easily. After all, rather than send the three fairies out, why couldn't the princess have brought them to her herself?

Maybe there was something that was preventing the princess from doing so. She felt her heart clench as she thought about that, her mind once again drifting to what exactly had happened after the two of them separated from each other.

If only she had been stronger...

Clenching her fist a little, Makoto shook the thought away. No, it wouldn't do her any good to dwell on the past. She had to keep looking forward to the future, and keep searching. The princess had to be out there somewhere. Even if it hadn't been entirely what she was hoping for, the appearance of the trio of fairies surely must have been a good sign.

And the battles with the Selfish were getting harder, there was no mistake about that. Having some allies might not be a bad idea- although...

"By allies, do you mean people from this world?" Makoto asked, frowning a little. "Somehow I don't feel like it would be right to ask people from here to get involved in a Trump Kingdom problem."

"It's not entirely a Trump Kingdom problem anymore, Makoto ~byi." Davie pointed out, glancing up towards her partner. "The Selfish are already causing problems for the humans living here. Without a doubt, if King Selfishness revives, his next target will be this city- and eventually the rest of the planet ~byi."

"I suppose that's true." Makoto said, nodding her head. Still, she couldn't help but feel uneasy about this- it was originally the Trump Kingdom's fault that the humans had even gotten involved in this matter, so asking them to help her...

Especially since she was probably the one to blame. No doubt the Selfish had followed her here, wanting to take care of the last Precure.

"It'll be fine ~sharu!" Cheryl reassured her, beaming brightly at the purple haired girl. "Just leave it us ~sharu!"

"That's right ~keru!" Raquel chimed in- it seemed that Lance had already fallen asleep by this point. "We'll find our Precure partners in a hurry! I can already feel them close by ~keru."

"No, it's too dangerous to let the three of you wander around by yourselves ~byi." Davie said, shaking her head. "You were just born, and I don't believe the three of you even know how to transform properly yet ~byi. Besides that, if the Selfish Trio find out about you, they'll probably attempt to capture you ~byi."

"That's true, but..." Cheryl trailed off, almost seeming to pout a little. "I want to hurry and help everyone ~sharu."

"It'll be fine if I go with them, right?" Makoto asked after a moment, glancing over towards Davie- who simply let out a slightly long suffering sigh.

"Makoto, in case you've forgotten in the midst of all this, you have a concert coming up this weekend. You don't have time to run around the entire city ~byi." The small purple fairy lectured her. "It'll be fine if I accompany them myself- besides, I'm much less recognizable than you ~byi."

"It'll be fine!" Makoto reassured her. Really, she wanted to be the one to approach any potential Precure herself- after all, she was the one to blame for mixing them up in this, it wouldn't be right if she wasn't there when they awakened. "There's rehearsal to be sure, but that doesn't take up all of my schedule. It's mostly television and radio appearances, right?"

"That's true, but that's important promotion ~byi." Davie pointed out, before she seemed to heave another sigh. "Well, I suppose it can't be helped. You would be better to protect them if the Selfish Trio became aware of their existence ~byi. I'll try to think of something in the meantime ~byi."

"_But_." Davie said, turning a sharp stare towards the three of them, Lance only spared by virtue of already being unconsciousness. "Nobody is going anywhere in the middle of the night ~byi. Get some sleep for now ~byi."

The two fairies who were still awake and Makoto quickly agreed. It was best, after all, not to make Davie too angry.

* * *

"You're awake quite early this morning, mother."

"I would much rather be asleep, in all honestly." A loud yawn escaped from the mouth of the bright blue haired woman, the batwings behind her ears stretching out as she did so. Brushing a stray hair from out of her eyes, she attempted to rub the sleep out of her eyes. "You're an early riser as always, Furia. Planning something to deal with Cure Sword, perhaps?"

"Yes." The Selfish girl nodded her head, turning her frosty blue eyes to meet her mother's golden ones. She did sometimes wonder why that wasn't a trait she shared with either of her parents- but she supposed it wasn't something to dwell on overmuch. "She's been a thorn in our sides for far too long already. I believe that if we manage to defeat her, the princess might reveal herself in an attempt to protect her."

"That's quite the theory." The Selfish woman, Marmo, sat down at the bar across from her. "She's shown no hints of coming out after all this time. I don't even think that annoying Precure knows where she is."

"I'm sure she'll show up." Furia said simply, smiling rather smugly to herself. "After all, if there's one thing these humans all have in common it's a ridiculous amount of attachment to other people. It's foolish, really." She snorted. "The only person you need to rely on and protect is yourself."

"Of course, you and father are the exception." Furia noted.

"That's true." Marmo said, nodding her head, letting out another loud yawn. "Be a dear and make me some coffee before you head out. You are going out to gather some dark energy for our lord, aren't you?"

"I am." Furia said, standing up. "Also, there's something more I want to investigate- something seemed to be distracting Cure Sword in our last battle. I think that it might be something related to the princess."

"That's my hardworking daughter." Marmo noted, the vaguest hint of a smile on her face. "And wake up your father on the way out. If I have to be awake this early, he has to suffer too."

"Of course!" Furia brightly chirped.

* * *

"I can't thank enough for always looking after my son, Mana-chan."

The magenta haired girl glanced up as she heard her name being spoken, before a bright smile crossed her face as her eyes fell on a woman she knew well. "No, it's no problem!" Mana shook her head quickly, looking rather pleased to see the dark blue haired woman. "He's my friend, after all. Just like a little brother!"

"I'm not your little brother!" Ira protested from across the room, pausing as he pulled on his favorite red shirt to glower at Mana. The bandages around his chest had been removed, though the ones around his head he had been warned to keep in place for at least another day, just as a precaution. "Besides, I'm the one who always looking after you!"

"Mana wasn't the one who tumbled out of a second story window, Ira." Although the woman's words seemed a bit harsh, she spoke with a light tone, and there was a concerned gaze in her eyes. "Honestly, you should be more careful. It doesn't matter how durable you are, you're not invincible."

"That's right, Ira! You should listen to your mother!" Mana fussed at the boy, before smiling over towards the older woman. "Just leave everything to me, Hishikawa-san! I'll make sure that Ira doesn't get into any trouble!"

"Thank you, Mana-chan." The woman, Ryoko Hishikawa, smiled softly at the younger girl. "I know he's always putting you through all sorts of trouble."

"Not as much trouble as she puts me through! Besides, it was her fault that I ended up in this mess anyways!" Ira heaved an annoyed sigh, pulling on the jacket of his school uniform, leaving it unbuttoned. "Honestly, you're the one who had the brilliant idea of trapping the runaway rabbit in the classroom without checking to make sure the windows were closed first."

"Ah, well..." Mana laughed a bit nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "That's true, I suppose. But I didn't exactly predict that you would just jump right out after it, Ira!"

"Hah? And what was I supposed to tell Yashima later? Sorry, we couldn't manage to catch it in time?" Ira huffed, frowning a little as he attempted to brush down his hair somewhat, only to grumble as the stubborn strands stood right back up.

"W-well, I suppose that's true too..." Mana trailed off a little, averting her gaze from her longtime friend. "W-well, I suppose it's for the best that everything turned out alright in the end! But you shouldn't make people worry about you like that, Ira! I seriously panicked for a second!"

"My, my, you two are getting along quite well today too."

"What part of this sounds like getting along to you?" Ira complained, frowning at the other girl who had just entered his hospital room. "She's always being a bother~."

"If you say things like that, I won't bring you along to Makopi's concert." Mana threatened, the mischievous gleam in her eyes only increasing when the golden eyed boy visibly flinched at her words. "It's good to see that you could make it, Alice! Isn't your school further away?"

"It's quite alright." Alice reassured her friend, pausing to adjust the ribbon of her school uniform for a moment. "If it becomes an emergency, I can always just use the helicopter to arrive at school on time."

"Rich people sure do live different lives, huh." Ira couldn't help but observe, before yawning a little. "Are you sure I have to go to school today?"

"Considering your grades on the last test, I don't think spending too much time out of school would be good for you, Ira." Ryoko lightly chided him, smiling as her son panicked a little. "Did you really think you could hide it from me? I asked your teacher personally."

"Well that's..." Ira trailed off, unable to lock eyes with his mother. "I didn't exactly mean to hide it..."

"I've always said that if you're having trouble with school, you can always accept tutoring from me!" Mana grinned broadly.

"You don't do that much better than me though." Ira pointed out, causing the magenta haired girl to flinch. "You tutoring elementary school students is one thing, but I don't think you're ready to tutor someone in your own grade level."

"Ah, that might true..." Mana couldn't help but admit, laughing a little- before perking back up right away. "But, speaking of school, we had better hurry! As the student council president, I can't afford to be late! My personal aide can't either!"

"Yes, yes." Ira heaved a sigh, reaching down to grab his school bag- before pausing. "Well, thank you for bringing my things, at least..."

Mana blinked for a moment, before a bright smile crossed her face. Ira really wasn't the type to thank people often, so she treasured it when he did!

"It's no problem! Come on, let's hurry, hurry!"

* * *

"Here is fine, Davie." Makoto adjusted her glasses slightly as she called out to the woman seated in the front seat of the car.

"Are you sure, Makoto?" The driver glanced back, casting a dark purple eye towards the younger girl. "I can further, if you like. There's a lot of people around here."

"That's the point. It'll be fine, I'm properly disguised, so nobody should recognize me." Makoto said, proudly patting the poofy white hat that she wore. "I'll be careful too. Besides, the new Precure should be girls around my age, and there's a school near here... if we're going to find a new Precure, then she would probably be somewhere around here."

"You've given it some thought, haven't you?" Davie couldn't help but smile. She was a bit worried that Makoto would reject help if it came down to it- but she was glad that the younger girl had relented. "Alright, then, I'll let you off here."

"Thank you, Davie!" Makoto smiled, carefully scooping up the bag next to her. "Are you three really okay in there?" She asked, peeking into the bag.

"We're perfectly okay, ~keru!" Raquel assured her, beaming brightly.

"More importantly, I'm amazed at your transformation, Davie ~sharu!" Cheryl said, peeking her head outside of the bag. "I heard that fairies could transform into humans, but it's amazing seeing it up close ~sharu!"

"Well, it has it's advantages and disadvantages. You're all a bit too young to learn how to yet, but I'll teach you in time." Davie said, glancing back at them with a smile. "Okay then, Makoto. I'll see you at the agreed meeting spot this afternoon. If you find something, make sure to call me."

"Yeah, I will!" Makoto nodded her head, opening up the door to the car and stepping out. "Take care!"

Waving as the car drove off, she lingered for a moment. In truth, she was still a bit hesitant to drag someone into her battle who wasn't from her world- but she knew that she couldn't keep this up herself for much longer. That was the reality of it, as much as she hated to admit it- lately the Jikochuu that she had fought had been getting stronger, after all.

Taking in and letting out a deep breath, brushing off any nervousness, she glanced down towards the three fairies- noting that Lance had nestled himself down to sleep in the duffel bag. She blinked for a moment at that, wondering if the fairy was really taking this seriously- before remembering that all three of them were newborns.

"Let's go, shall we?" She asked, to which the two fairies who were still awake, nodded their heads.

Makoto had chosen this location for it's close proximity to Oogai First Middle School- she had driven past this way before on the way to her talent agency many times before, so she knew that a lot of students who walked to school headed this way. And just as she predicted, both sides of the sidewalk contained any number of students on it. Not wanting to gain attention from just standing awkwardly there, Makoto began to advance along the sidewalk herself, heading in the direction towards the school.

"Don't you go to school, ~sharu?" Cheryl quietly inquired from within the bag, where she was concealing herself from wayward glances.

"No." Makoto shook her head, keeping her voice quiet so that the people around them wouldn't here. "Between being a Precure and an idol, I really don't have the time. Besides, I think I would only just bring trouble to my classmates if I did. Be it from the Selfish Trio or just normal paparazzi."

"I see ~sharu." Cheryl blinked, frowning a little. "That's a bit lonely ~sharu."

"I'm not lonely at all." Makoto said- and she had convinced herself this was the truth. "I have Davie with me, after all."

"And you'll have the other three Precure soon too ~keru!" Raquel chimed in, beaming proudly. "I can't wait to find my partner ~keru! I bet she's someone simply amazing ~keru!"

"I'm sure." Makoto couldn't help but smile a little. Tearing her eyes away from the duffel bag, she glanced about her, trying to be as covert as possible. Would she be able to tell who would be the next Precure? She might have to just rely on the fairies own abilities... she had no idea who it could be herself. Just as she was dwelling on that matter- a rather loud voice caught her ears- one that sounded somewhat familiar for some reason, besides that...

Where had she heard it before?

"Come on, hurry up! We're really going to be late if you keep up that pace, Ira!" Mana huffed, pausing mid-step to turn around and glare towards her friend. "The bell will ring in three minutes!"

Blinking, Makoto turned her attention towards the source of it- a girl that was across the sidewalk from her. As she spotted the magenta hair, she suddenly recalled exactly where she had heard it before- this was the girl from yesterday, wasn't it? The one who had called her name from her car? There was no way that she could forget such a loud voice.

It seemed like she was having a small argument with her friend- it almost made Mana smile, to see someone leading such a peaceful normal life, in spite of everything.

"I did just get released from the hospital, you know! Give me a break!" Ira complained, yawning loudly as he caught up to Mana. "Besides that, I didn't sleep well last night."

"Eh, why?" Mana blinked. "Bad dreams?"

"Yeah, something like that." Ira said, frowning a little.

"What about?" Mana asked, starting to walk forwards again without turning back around. "You know you can tell me about things like this! I do worry about you, you know."

"You don't have worry, I can take care of myself." Ira insisted. Besides that, he honestly didn't really want to tell Mana the content of his nightmares. He did use to have dreams like this before- especially when he was a lot younger, before he had met Mana. He had thought they had stopped for a long time- but he recently had been seeing him again.

It was the familiarity of what he saw in his dreams that put him ill at ease. Figures he didn't recognize, yet knew.

And the darkness the threatened to engulf everything.

"Are you really okay, I-" Mana began, only to be cut off by a sudden dull thud. Letting a cry of pain, she grasped at the back of her head. "_Owwwwww_. You have be more careful-" She began, turning around to face who she had run into- only to turn a bright shade of red to realize it wasn't a person at all.

It was a telephone pole.

Across the street, against her better judgement, Makoto found a snort of laughter escaping from her. Of course, she felt a bit sorry for the girl, but that was the first time she had ever seen someone actually run into a telephone pole! She was sure that didn't happen outside of television!

"Honestly." Ira heaved a sigh, offering a hand to Mana. "And you just telling my mother how you took care of me. You should be careful. See, even that girl over there is laughing at you." He noted, glancing over towards Makoto.

And he froze in place, barely even feeling Mana gratefully accepting his hand, and pulling herself up. For a second, his golden eyes diluted, and the world seemingly shrank around him, until he could only focus on one thing.

The girl's almost blindingly pure heart.

A sharp pain pulled him back to reality, and it took him a second to realize that it was Mana, pulling on his ear. "Oi, Earth to Ira, come in, please! We're running on limited time here!"

"Ah, sorry." Ira blinked rapidly, his pupils returning to normal. He frowned, tearing his eyes away from the girl, as much as he didn't want to. He was sure that he had seen that heart somewhere before... but for some reason, he couldn't think of exactly where.

Of the two, Ira was the only one of the pair who had ceased looking towards each other. Makoto had been pulled abruptly out of her fit of giggles by the boy's eyes, her skin practically crawling as the golden color of them entered into her field of vision. Even across the street, she could make them out perfectly- and her body had gone completely tense, her breath catching in her throat.

"Selfish." It came out as a faint whisper, and honestly she wasn't even sure if she had actually spoken the word. She swallowed, the knuckles of the hand that was clutching her bag's strap turning white from how tight her grip had gotten, as the hairs on the back of her neck raised up. What was a Selfish doing here, acting like a normal human?

But after a second, she let out her held breath, her fist unclenching. There was no way that was true. Upon closer examination, although the boy's eyes were certainly a familiar golden color, they didn't have the inhuman light in them that a Selfish's eyes did. Besides that, only Marmo and Bel had golden eyes- Furia had blue ones, so she couldn't assume that was a constant.

It was just a coincidence.

"Makoto, are you okay, ~sharu?" The pink rabbit-like fairy glanced up from her hiding place. She hadn't caught what the girl had whispered, but she had gone as still as death for a second- of course she would be worried about that!

"Ah, no, it's nothing!" Makoto shook her head, glancing down to reassure the fairy- before she felt someone bump into her.

"Ah, sorry!" The young man quickly apologized, realizing that he had collided into the girl. He blinked for a moment as he locked eyes with her- and it was true that her hat and glasses would protect her from any passing glances, but for someone looking directly at her face... "Wait, aren't you...?"

"Y-you have the wrong person!" Makoto quickly stammered, pulling down the brim of her hat, and hurrying along the sidewalk.

"W-wait a minute!" The young man called after her. "You're Makopi, aren't you!?"

And with that single name, suddenly, all eyes were on the purple haired girl. What began as a small mumble soon erupted into shouts of excitement. It was Makopi! The super idol that was everywhere today! She was right here!

Mana herself, was no exception. She perked straight up upon hearing the name, her eyes sparkling, any other thoughts pushed aside for the moment. "Makopi?! Really!?" Turning to look in the direction everyone else was, she bounced up and down on her feet, before turning to Ira in excitement. "It really is! It's Makopi, Ira, she's over there!"

"Eh?" Ira blinked rapidly, peering out from behind Mana. It was the same girl from earlier... the one with the pure heart was Makopi? That was would explain why her heart seemed so familiar to him... "You're right. What's a super idol doing all the way out here?"

"Maybe she's coming to our school?" Mana asked excitedly.

"But she looks like she's in trouble." Ira pointed out. Although she had tried to run away, the students had already pulled out their cell phones and had begun texting their friends. It wasn't long before the super idol had found herself surrounded by a semi-circle of eager fans, with the road at her back.

"Ah, you're right!" Mana said, frowning a little. "That's no good! I have to go and help her! Here!" Thrusting her school bag suddenly at the dark brown haired boy, leaving Ira to scramble to hold on to it, Mana valuated herself over the small dividing fence that separated the road from the sidewalk. Luckily, the traffic had stopped because of the commotion as well, allowing the magenta haired girl to safely dart across the street.

"Wait a second, Mana, what happened to being late!?" Ira called out after her- but it was already too late.

Panicking more than a little, Makoto backed up until her rear hit the dividing fence, preventing her from going on any further. She pulled the duffel bag closer towards herself, so that nobody could see what was inside. It wouldn't be good if they learned that the super idol, Makopi, was carrying fairies around town!

Just as she was trying to think of what she could say to get the crowd to diffuse a little, a loud voice that she was stating to become rather familiar with interrupted her thoughts.

"Hold on a second!" Mana declared, taking a neat leap onto the dividing fence- although she stumbled for a second, having to grab onto a lamp post to steady herself in the end. "By order of Oogai First Middle School's student council president, make some room!"

The girl's sudden appearance seemed to be enough to stun the students for a second, and Makoto quickly realized that this was a chance to make her escape. However, before she could even do that, the girl jumped down from her perch and grabbed her hand, smiling brightly at her. "Don't worry!" She reassured her. "I'll let you escape properly, Makopi!"

"W-wait!"

But the super idol couldn't manage to get in another word edgewise before the magenta haired girl pulled her through the stunned crowds, half dragging her down one of the back streets away from the crowd. She could hear protests from behind her, and the sound of a few footsteps of people who decided to follow after them, but honestly she couldn't concentrate on them much at the moment. It was all she could to just keep up with this girl!

* * *

As Mana and Makoto's footsteps began to fade into the distance, the members of the crowd that hadn't tried to pursue them eventually began dispersing. Many of them groaned and grumbled- but it wasn't them that caught the eye of Furia, who hovered overhead, just out of the normal line of vision.

No, it was a young female student who stood in place, her gaze fixed towards the direction the two girls had run off in. She bit her lip, clenching her fist over her heart, her eyes narrowed. Her jealousy was written clearly over her face, even if Furia could already see it in her Psyche.

"Why did the student council president have to take her away? I barely even got to see her!" She huffed out loud- before she heaved a sigh, unclenching her fist. "But I'm sure that Makopi felt trapped like that- we shouldn't have ganged up on her like that in the first place."

"Is there really anything wrong with that?" The voice floated into her ears, and for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what direction it was from. It was as if someone was speaking directly into her head. Desperately searching around for the source of it, she let out a sharp gasp, taking a step back as her eyes fell on the floating figure of Furia, who had suddenly appeared before her.

"She's your idol, right? Of course you would want to have the chance to talk to her. It was horrible of that girl to take her away." Furia said, her frost blue eyes locking with the girls. "Why don't you let me make your wishes come true?"

The snap of Furia's fingers was all the girl heard as she felt herself suddenly consumed by darkness.

* * *

After what seemed to be several minutes of running, through several shortcuts, the girl finally came to a stop, allowing Makoto to catch her breath. It was true that she was both an idol and a Precure, both things which required a certain amount of stamina- but she hadn't predicted today's sudden workout!

Davie would probably lecture her later.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked, having to pause to catch her own breath as well- more so than Makoto, it seemed. Brushing aside a stray strand of magenta hair, she smiled at the super idol. "You looked like you were in trouble there."

"Y-yes!" Makoto stammered, unable to keep herself from smiling. It seemed like the girl had only been trying to help- she was a bit surprised, but it wasn't like she was a bad person. She felt somewhat bad for laughing at her earlier.

"That's good." Mana said, extending her hand. "I'm Aida Mana. I'm a big fan of yours, Makopi!"

"Is that so?" Makoto said, taking the girl's hand and giving it a shake. For the moment, she didn't notice the faint ruffling inside of her duffel bag. "I'm Kenzaki Makoto... although, I suppose I don't really need to introduce myself if you're already a fan."

"Pleased to meet you!" Mana beamed wider as the idol took her hand. Ah, she wouldn't be able to wash this hand for days! She had tingles all up and down her spine! It wasn't even a handshaking event, and yet Makopi had shaken her hand!

She blinked then, frowning a little as her eyes fell on the idol's duffel bag. "Um, do you have something in there?" She asked, pointing to it. "It just moved."

"E-eh?" Makoto startled at the girl's words, her eyes going wide, quickly shaking her head. Had the commotion maybe woken Lance up? She was sure that Cheryl and Raquel wouldn't make a sound in this situation. "N-no, not at all! Are you sure you're not just imagining things!?"

"But I definitely saw something move!" Mana insisted, unable to deny the curiosity that filled her.

"There's no way that could be!" Makoto said quickly, taking a step back. "After all, there's just song lyrics and stuff in here! Nothing alive!"

"But-" Mana began, before she was cut off by a loud cry from the distance- followed by the sound of several screams.

Makoto recognized it right away.

A new Jikochuu had appeared! But why at a time like this!? Could she really get away from this girl in this situation? And what's more, Davie wasn't even here to transform with!

As if she had sensed the purple Precure's nervousness from inside her bag, Cheryl suddenly popped her head out of it. "Don't worry, ~sharu!" The pink rabbit like fairy declared, floating out of the bag before Makoto could push her back down. "Because I'm sure that this girl is the second Precure!"

For a second, Mana completely froze in shock, unable to process what had just happened. And then-

_"EEEEHHHHHH!?"_


End file.
